“But it’s not that easy to find a home, even now that he’s gone.So?Where have you been sleeping?”
Cullen’s shoulders slumped.“Like I said, here and there.”
“I’m not your father,” Jasper started, only to stop when Cullen snorted.
“Thank God that you’re not,” Cullen said.
“Yes, I’m glad I’m not Kester.But this isn’t good for you.You shouldn’t be sleeping rough.”And if Jasper had to guess, Cullen also wasn’t eating enough.
“It’s not like I’m doing it because I want to.”
“Why didn’t you come here sooner?I told you I’d help you if I could.”
Cullen shrugged.“You’ve already done enough.”
Jasper sighed.It wasn’t his job to take care of Cullen, but he felt responsible for the man.He was little more than a boy.He needed help, and he didn’t have anyone else.“Why are you here today, then?”
“I was bored.”
Jasper could tell that wasn’t true.He wasn’t going to call Cullen out on it, though.
The one thing he’d liked about being a hunter was helping people.It hadn’t happened often enough, but when it had, it had made him feel like it was worth it.Right now, Cullen needed help, and Jasper was willing to provide that help.It might distract him from the mess his life had become.
But of course, Cullen squashed that thought right away.
“So you’re a monster,” he said, still looking around the apartment.
Jasper swallowed.“I guess I am.”
“And you didn’t know?”
“I never even suspected that my parents weren’t my parents, no.”
“Cool.”
Was it?Jasper didn’t know, and frankly, he wished he didn’t have to think about any of this.“We should go and pick up your stuff,” he hoped, hoping to distract Cullen.
“There’s no need to.Everything’s out by the door.”
“What do you mean?”
Cullen opened the front door that Jasper had just closed and reached out.He held up a backpack stuffed to the brim, hauling it inside the apartment before closing the door again.For a second, Jasper could only stare.Of course that was everything Cullen owned.He’d been on the run from his father, and he wouldn’t have survived as long as he had with more stuff to drag around.It wasn’t right, though.Cullen had had a life before Kester had decided to find him.Why had he stayed here now that it was safe for him to go back to that life?Jasper wanted to ask, but something told him that Cullen wouldn’t answer.Maybe he would, in time, but not right now.
“I was going to go out,” he said.
“Do you want me to leave, then?”
“No.You can come with me.”
Cullen’s eyes widened.“Where are you going?”
“The monster district.I’m hoping to find something about my birth parents.”
Cullen nodded as if he understood.“Right.”
Maybe he did understand.Jasper was curious about him, and maybe this would give them a chance to talk and get to know each other.Cullen needed help, and Jasper was willing to provide that help.Cullen didn’t deserve what had happened to him.
It didn’t take long for Jasper to be ready.He led the way out of the apartment and to his car, smiling when Cullen started chatting.It was as if now that he’d started, he couldn’t stop, and he kept up a steady stream of words as Jasper drove them to the monster district.Jasper was an only child—which, considering his situation, was a good thing—but he’d been raised with other kids, and Cullen reminded him of some of them.It had been like having younger siblings, and Jasper felt a bit like that with Cullen, too.They didn’t have to share blood to become friends.
